The present invention relates to camera opening devices and, more particularly, to a camera opening device for a single use camera.
Single use cameras are a popular way for people to take photographs. After the single use camera has been used, the exposed film has to be processed to form the negative from which photographs can be developed.
In general, a single use camera has a light-weight plastic shell, a viewfinder for visually aligning the picture, an exposure button for taking the picture, and a lens. The lens is usually not adjustable, which allows for simple and inexpensive manufacturing as well as ease of use for the camera user. A single use camera usually comes as either an outdoor camera which does not have a flash unit, or an indoor camera, which has a flash unit. The single use camera comes loaded with film. Usually, the film is arranged within the camera such that most of the film is disposed outside of the canister. After the user depresses the exposure button, taking a photograph, the user then turns the winding wheel in order to advance the film for the next frame. This winds the exposed portion of the film into the canister. This procedure is repeated as each exposure is taken, and so the film is gradually wound into the canister. By the time that all of the film has been used, substantially all of the film will be wound in the canister. This system differs from that of most multi-use cameras, wherein initially the film is fully contained within the canister and is gradually withdrawn from the canister with each successive exposure and winding.
For this reason, in a standard multi-use camera, once all the exposures have been taken, the film must then be rewound back into the canister. In contrast, in a fully exposed single use camera the exposed film is already completely, or nearly completely, contained in the canister.
In general, single use cameras fall into one of two different configurations. The first configuration is a bottom opening camera. As depicted in FIG. 1, a bottom opening camera has a bottom film compartment door 102. Bottom film compartment door 102 must be opened so that film canister 104 can be removed. The other camera configuration is the end opening camera. The end opening camera 106 shown in FIG. 2 has end film compartment door 108 which must be opened for the film canister 104 to be removed.
Once fully-used, the entire single use camera is sent to a photographic developing center for processing. At the photographic developing center the canister of film is removed from within the camera. The film is then developed in a known manner. The single-use camera is typically opened and the canister of exposed film extracted by a technician. The technician will generally do this using one of two methods to remove the film from the single use camera. The method chosen will depend on whether the single use camera is of the bottom opening or end opening type.
Conventionally, the photographic film technician removes the film, from either type of single use camera, by hand. Since the film may not be fully wound into the canister, the first step in the film removal process is to advance the film until it is fully contained within the canister. This is done to insure that the film is fully contained within the canister before the canister is removed, preventing the ambient light from degrading the exposed film. The photographic film technician does this by depressing the exposure button while turning the winding wheel. Single use cameras are often designed so that if the user has not already fully wound the film into the canister, the technician turning the winding wheel will feel a physical resistance or hard stop once the film is fully contained within the canister. If all of the available exposures on the film have been used, then only a minimal amount of winding is necessary. If, however, only a portion of the available exposures have been utilized, then more winding will be necessary.
Once the film is fully wound, the technician opens the film compartment door. This is usually done by prying the door open with a screwdriver or similar flat bladed tool. In the case of a bottom opening camera, a bottom film compartment door is opened, whereas in the case of an end opening camera, an end film compartment door is opened.
With both types of single use cameras, the process of opening the compartment door and removing the film canister can be time consuming, tedious, difficult, and, should the technician""s hand slip while holding the opening tool, dangerous. These shortcomings in the manual film removing process are amplified by the current popularity of the single use cameras. Due to this popularity, photographic film technicians are required to open a large number of cameras. When a large number of cameras must be manually opened, accuracy of the opening process may suffer, and tedium and physical exhaustion may a result.
The present invention is directed to a camera opening device for opening single use cameras.
In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention is directed to a camera opening device, for use with a single use camera having an exposure button and a canister containing film therein. The camera opening device includes a base and a winding portion, disposed in the base, which winds the film into the canister. The camera opening device also has at least one of an end opening portion disposed in the base and which can remove an end of the camera and a bottom opening portion disposed in the base and which can remove a bottom portion of the camera. The winding portion of the camera opening device may have a winding receptacle that is dimensioned and disposed to receive a camera. The winding portion also may include an exposure button pressing device for pressing the camera""s exposure button when the camera is in the winding receptacle. The winding portion also may have a camera winding holding device that helps to secure the camera in place when film is being wound. A motorized wheel which cooperates with the camera""s winding wheel to wind the film is also provided. To ensure that the exposure button is depressed before the motorized wheel begins to wind, an exposure button interlock detects whether the exposure button has been pressed before winding can begin. The winding portion also has a winding switch which controls the winding process once the camera is inserted into the winding receptacle.
Single use cameras typically have a winding interlock which insures that the proper amount of film is drawn past the shutter and into the canister for each exposure. As previously noted, single use cameras come loaded with most of the film outside the canister, and as exposures are made the film is gradually drawn into the canister. The winding interlock only allows the winding wheel to be turned by an amount sufficient to draw a single exposure of film, including side borders, into the canister. Once the winding wheel has been turned by that amount, the interlock prevents the winding wheel from turning until after the exposure button has been pressed and a picture has been taken. Pressing the exposure button resets the winding interlock so that the winding wheel can now be turned to draw the exposed film into the canister and fresh film into position for exposure. This insures that successive exposures are regularly spaced and located directly adjacent to one another on the film.
The winding interlock prevents the winding wheel from being turned continuously to draw all of the film into the canister. Consequently, a technician preparing to open a single use camera must repeatedly turn the winding wheel until the interlock engages and then press the exposure button to trigger the shutter until all of the film is contained in the canister. This intermittent winding to draw the film into canister is time-consuming and tiring for the technician. Even if the technician holds the exposure button continuously while turning the winding wheel, repeatedly turning the winding wheels of successive cameras will tire the technician.
The present invention allows for continuous winding of the film. As discussed in greater detail below, this is accomplished by providing a motorized wheel that turns the winding wheel at the same time that an exposure button pressing device depresses the exposure button. This way the motorized wheel can turn the winding wheel continuously until the film is drawn fully into the canister.
In use, a technician will insert a single use camera, either end opening or bottom opening type, into the winding receptacle. When placed into the winding receptacle, the camera is oriented with the exposure button facing upward and the film compartment facing toward the camera opening device. Once the camera is in the winding receptacle, the technician depresses the winding switch. This causes the exposure button pressing device to press the exposure button while the motorized wheel turns the camera""s winding wheel, so that the film is drawn completely into the canister.
When the winding switch is placed in the winding position, the camera winding holding arm extends into within the winding receptacle and presses against the camera, facilitating secure positioning of the camera. Also, an exposure button interlock switch detects that the exposure button is pressed before winding begins. This function serves as a safety feature which prevents the camera, the film and the film canister from being damaged, as might occur if the motorized wheel turned the winding wheel while the exposure button is not depressed. The inner workings of the single use camera are such that pressing the exposure button releases a catch on the winding mechanism for the film canister.
The technician can hold the exposed end of the camera during this winding process and can feel vibration when the film is completely wound. There also may be audible cues indicating when the film is completely wound, since the camera opening device will generate different sounds when the film is winding, as opposed to when the film is fully wound. Once the film is completely wound, the technician releases the winding button and removes the camera from the winding receptacle.
After the film is fully wound, the technician then proceeds to the camera opening step. If the camera is a bottom opening camera, the camera is inserted by the technician into the bottom opening receptacle. Once the camera is in the receptacle, the technician depresses the bottom opening switch. The bottom opening switch actuates a bottom opening camera retention device and the film door prying device. The bottom opening camera retention device secures the camera in place while the film door is pried open by the prying device. Once the door is opened, the technician releases the bottom opening switch and removes the camera from the bottom opening receptacle.
A comparable procedure is performed for end opening cameras where the camera is placed in the end opening receptacle and the technician depresses the end opening switch. The end opening switch actuates a film door hooking device which opens the film door on the end opening camera. Once the door is opened, the technician releases the end opening switch and removes the camera from the end opening receptacle.
By using the present invention, a technician can quickly and accurately wind the film in a single use camera and then open the camera""s film door of the camera to remove the film canister. This speeds the camera opening process and requires less physical exertion on the part of the technician. Further, since the camera opening device is designed so that the camera is precisely aligned within the winding and opening receptacles, the film door can be readily opened.
In general, the camera opening device may be box shaped. The camera opening device can be mounted on a counter or a table top, or could have an integral base structure. The winding receptacle, as well as the end opening and bottom opening receptacles, can be accessed from, and are disposed on, the front. The winding switch, as well as the end opening and bottom opening switches, are also disposed on the front side of the camera opening device.
The camera opening device can use both electrical and pneumatic power (alternatively, at least one of the operations involved with opening and extracting the film canister could be powered manually). The electrical system is powered by a connection to a standard 110 volt AC connection. This AC power is stepped down through a step down transformer and then rectified in a rectifier bridge to provide DC current. The DC voltage is then used to drive a DC motor, which turns a motorized wheel during film winding. The power may be controlled via a power switch disposed on the first side of the camera opening device. The DC power supply to the winding motor may also be interrupted by the exposure button interlock system. Specifically, if the exposure button is not depressed, power will not flow to the winding motor.
In the pneumatic system, pressurized air enters the camera opening device via a fitting disposed on the back of the camera opening device. The air pressure can be checked using an air pressure gauge disposed on the top of the camera opening device. This pressure may be regulated by the air pressure adjustment knob disposed on the side of the camera opening device.
With respect to the pneumatic system, the winding button controls air flow to the winding camera holding device as well as the exposure button depressing device. The end opening switch controls air flow to the film door hooking device. Further, the bottom opening switch controls air flow to the bottom opening camera holding device as well as the film door prying device.
An access cover is disposed on the top of the camera opening device. The access cover can be removed to obtain access to the electrical and pneumatic systems disposed within the housing of the camera opening device. The access cover facilitates easy maintenance and troubleshooting of the unit.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, both this specification and the drawings, which are not to scale, are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.